Cotton-chopper.



PATBNTED JULY 28, 1908.

No. 894,353.v

S. VANCE. COTTON GHOPPER. "APPLICATION FILED DEo.2.19o7.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JULY 28, 1908.

S. VANCE. COTTON SHOPPER. APPLIGATION FILED 11110..'2. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

SHAW VANOE, OF SLATE SPRING, MISSISSIPPI.

COTTON-CHOPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 28, 1908.

Application filed December 2, 1907. Serial No. 404,728.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SHAW VANGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Slate Spring, in the county of Calhoun and State of Mississippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Choppers, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to cotton choppers, and consists of a cotton ,chopping attachment adapted to be applied to cultivators of known construction, particularly straddle row wheeled cultivators of the walking type, but nevertheless applicable with slight modifications to cultivators of other types.

The object of the invention is to provide a chopping attachment which can be readily attached to or detached from the cultivator, and which is capable of easy manipulation to putit in or out of action, and which vll be simple and cheap in construction and efficient 1n use.

Vith these and other objects in view, the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the machine, the main parts of the cultivator being outlined in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a similar rear perspective view. Fig. 3 is a detail in end elevation showing the means for throwing the attachment in or out of gear.

The cultivator may be of any of the usual types of wheeled cultivators, andthe particular construction is immaterial and will not be described except to say that 6 indicates the usual arched axle, 7 the wheels thereon, and S the tongue.

The attachment invented by me has a driving gear 9 mounted upon the axle at one end and attached in any suitable manner to one ofthe wheels in order to be driven thereby. This gear meshes with a pinion 10 on a shaft 11 which extends across the machine between the wheels and slightly below and in the rear of the axle. The `shaft has a beveled gear 12 which meshes with a pinion 13 on the rear end of a longitudinal shaft 14 which is located at the middle line of the implement and which carries the chopping blades 15 at the ends of radial arms 16.

The front end of the shaft is supported by a bearing box 17 at the lower end of a hanger 18 which is fastened at its upper end to the tongue by a clamp 19. This hangeris braced and stiffened by a bar 20 which is bolted to the hanger at 21 and which is attached to the in front of the clamp 19. The rear end of the shaft 14 is supported by a hanger 23 which has a bearing box 24 at its lower end for the shaft, said box being located adjacent to the pinion 13, and which is fastened at its upper end to the tongue by a clamp 25. These hangers support the chopper shaft in proper position with respect-to the frame of the machine and with respect to the row of plants being operated on.

The cross shaft 11 is hung at one end by a hanger 26 from one end of the axle 6 and at the other end by a hanger 27 at the other end of the axle. The hanger 26 is loosely clamped about the axle 6, as shown in Fig. 3, forming a space 28 permitting a limited longitudinal movement or shift of the hanger in order to throw the pinion 10 in and out of gear'with the driving wheel 9. 4This action is effected by means of a lever 29, which is fulcrumed upon the axle 6 by means of a U- bolt 30 and which extends across said axle and is connected at its front end to the hanger 26 by means of a link 31, and the lever has a latch 32 engageable with notched segment 33 mounted upon said hanger 26. When the lever is pushed down the hanger 26 is shifted and the shaft 11 is pulled toward the axle 6, throwing the gears 9 and 10 in mesh, where they are held by an engagement of the latch and segment. To throw the attachment out of gear the lever 29 is lifted, allowing the shaft 11 to drop down to separate the gears. The beveled gear 12 is conveniently held in mesh with the pinion 13 by means of an arm 34 which is fixed at one end to the hanger 23 and which extends around behind the beveled gear 12 and has a roller 35 which bears against the back of the beveled gear and so holds the same in'mesh with the pinion.

In operation, the chopper shaft is driven by the gearing indicated, causing the blades to revolve, with a chopping action across the row to thin out the cotton plants. To attach the device to a cultivator it is simply necessary to apply the hangers to the axle and tongue, and it may be readily detached by taking out a few bolts. The usual operation of the cultivator is not interfered with in any respect, and the attachment may be used with the cultivator to perform both operations at once.

I claim:

1. A chopper attachment for wheeled tongue by a clamp 22 located some distance cultivators, comprising a driving gear on the hanger adjacentJ the pinion having an elongated opening through which the axle extends, permitting; the shaft to be moved laterally toward or from the axle to engage or disengage the gear and pinion7 and a lever fulcrumed on the axle and extending across above the same and connected to the hanger, l

to shift the same.

2. A chopper' attachment for wheeled cultivators, comprising a cross shaft geared to the cultivator wheel and supported on the axle thereof and having a bevel gear at the middle, a shaft extending lengthwise of the cultivator and having aaevel pinion at its rear end in mesh with said gear, hangers depending from the cultivator frame and supporting the front and rear ends of the'longitudinal shaft, and an arm projecting from the rear hanger and having a roller bearing against the back of the gear to hold the same 25 in mesh with the pinion,

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

vSHAN VANCE. Witnesses:

C. W. DILLARD, W. A. WEsT. 

